Hot Has Many Layers
by Hazel Roses
Summary: While Fairy Tail enjoys a day off at the town fair, they discover a Hot Pepper Challenge commencing. One of the prizes included a hard to find silver celestial key, Leronia. Lucy was ecstatic but she couldn't tolerate foods seasoned with just black pepper. Natsu steps in to win it for her, but nullifying magic makes his fire abilities useless. Whatever, he'd still win... right?


**I created a Nalu fanfic Exchange for August! I started small this time around with six Nalu authors with a theme of cliches. Each author got a randomly selected cliche to write for another author. This written for the lovely bearpluscat on Tumblr! Hope you enjoy it, love!**

**I used a pepper chart from the Pepper Festival's chart which is along the lines of other Shu charts, but they rounded for a more simple number I think. That works for me because trying to spell out 2,009,231 in dialogue would be ridiculous. Ha!**

**Prompt: we're laughing with you, not at you**

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With autumn swirling its way across Fiore, the town found itself lost within cinnamon, tangerine, and marigold hues. The weather cooled from stifling heat to crisp breezes. Light jackets and comfy jeans replaced summer's sleeveless tanks and shorts that left little to the imagination. Tree leaves began their transition from dark green to an array of warm colors, a sure sign that fall arrived.

The fair just opened to the excitement of Fiore's citizens. Wizards and civilians alike enjoyed the rides and delicious treats to stuff themselves with. Officials had canceled the fair the year prior while everyone picked up the pieces from Alvarez's attack.

The normalness of the Fair arriving helped solidify that as a community, they could move forward. Fairy Tail closed for the day to enjoy the festivities and build morale. Most folks branched off with their prospective teams, but not before acknowledging the elated citizens who crowded around them. Others stayed in a larger group, arguing about what to do first.

"Let's get some snacks!" Lucy suggested, gaze zeroed in on an ice cream food truck.

Levy nodded in agreement while fiddling with her worn fanny pack. "They're green tea ice cream is to die for!"

"No way!" Natsu interjected while pointing at the Balloon and Dart area. "Let's go play some carnival games!"

"You want me to kick yer ass, huh Natsu?!" Gajeel taunted with a crazed grin, his right arm transforming into an iron lance.

"Does everything have to be a contest between you two?" Carla huffed from her place floating next to Wendy.

Wendy toyed with her cobalt locks, a soft smile crossing her features. "I think I'd like to get my face painted!"

"I would also like sweets," Erza spoke while eying a nearby food stand.

Jellal watched her, fond expression crossing his usually serious features.

"What about rides?" he questioned. "I'd like-"

"No!" all three dragon slayers exclaimed.

Jellal's eyebrows lifted while the remaining ladies giggled. He'd forgotten they still suffered from motion sickness. Lucy grasped Natsu's hand, intent on dragging him to the plethora of food trucks parked in a semi-circle just past the games. Delicious scents reached her nostrils despite the distance. The Fire Dragon Slayer grinned as his woman dragged him forward, yelling at him to eat then play games. He didn't hear a word she said. What Natsu paid attention to was the way her nose crinkled when she fussed and the slenderness of her neck he'd bitten in the throes of passion many times over. Her cascading golden tresses shifted to give him just a glimpse. He noticed the softness of her palm despite the vice grip she clamped on his forearm.

"Are you listening to me?!" Lucy demanded.

"Something about snacks, right?"

Lucy paused and searched his eyes with her own cocoa ones. When she studied him like this, Natsu almost felt naked, like she could see into his soul. The vulnerability of it took some getting used to, but he didn't mind it now. She shared her vulnerabilities with him, too.

She gave him that bright smile that made him obedient to her every wish.

"Great! I'm sure there's something you'll like!"

The rest of the group tagged along and when they reached the food trucks, they noticed a small area with picnic tables lined in a neat row. Natsu squinted to read the banner shifting in the afternoon breeze.

"Hot Pepper Eating Challenge?"

"That sounds miserable," Jellal mused.

"Gihi," Gajeel chuckled and strode toward the tables. "I used to eat hot peppers all the time. I can win easy!"

"Wait, Gajeel!" Levy called while trailing after him.

Panther Lily simply shook his head and flew after them. The food truck calling Lucy's name was in the same direction her friends wandered and as they neared the challenge area, Levy gave them an excited wave.

"Whoever wins gets to choose between unlimited buffet for a week, one thousand jewels, or a celestial key!"

Lucy's face blanched, and she ran toward the taller male running the challenge. Food came second to finding new spirits to form bonds with.

"Which spirit is it?!"

She almost bounced on the balls of her feet with excitement.

"This is Leronia, the-"

"The Canine Spirit?!" Lucy shouted. "She's one of the select silver keys that has physical strength just below that of a Zodiac spirit!"

The game host threw his hands into the air and took a theatrical pose. His wacky outfit included bright blue pants too short for someone his height, white and red striped polo, and suspenders that matched his charisma.

"Sounds like you may be a Celestial Mage! What shall I call you?!"

"Lucy!" She smiled and showed her keys. "That's right, I'm a celestial wizard!"

"Well, Lucy the Celestial Wizard, I'm Peridot, your game host! Care to try your hand?"

He motioned to a container and galloped to it. He slapped the top and before flinging it open.

"This is as the name says, a Hot Pepper Eating Challenge! There are five peppers total ranging from hot to inferno! You just have to be the last brave soul standing! Easy right?!"

Natsu watched Lucy's face fall. He knew she couldn't tolerate hot foods. Mild hot sauce flushed her skin and burned her sensitive mouth. Extremely hot peppers might send her running to Porlyusica, who would show no sympathy. That's when she turned to him and he'd already read her mind.

"I'll win that key for ya, Lucy!"

Her smile brightened as she clasped her hands together happily. "Would you please?!"

Natsu folded his arms behind his head and laughed. "I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer, there's no way I can lose! Count me in!"

Peridot collapsed to the dirt and threw an arm over his face. Fairy Tail's wizards watched his performance in awe. His wavy auburn hair collected dirt from the ground before he jumped to his feet, a cloud of dust bursting from his clothes.

"How romantic! And they say chivalry is dead! Alas, it is alive and well!"

"Don't you want all you can eat?!" Happy whined.

Lucy whirled around and shook a fist at the Exceed. "Shut up, cat! I want that key!"

"Well, ya ain't gonna get it!"

Gajeel sat at a picnic table and pointed a thumb at himself. Confidence radiated from the Iron Dragon Slayer and when Levy joined him, he hooked an arm around her slender shoulders. "I gotta win this girl those jewels so Levy here can get more books."

Levy's cheeks blushed. She laid a hand on Gajeel's thigh and smiled at Natsu. "You'll have some great competition!"

Natsu couldn't believe how easy this contest would be. They underestimated the power of fire magic. The hottest flames didn't phase. What could a few measly peppers do? Natsu plopped down across from Gajeel as their friends gathered around.

"You're on!"

After twenty minutes of gathering more people to participate in the contest, Peridot placed water and milk in front of all eight participants. A colorful array of peppers rested on a simple plate. Their appearance made them seem mild, but they all had a kick to them, each worse than the last. Natsu's leg bounced with impatience. He wanted to play carnival games already and make Lucy happy.

"Okay!" Peridot sang through an unnecessary megaphone. "You will eat the peppers from left to right starting with the jalapeño pepper to the dreaded California Reaper! Whoever can continue wins! You are disqualified if you quit or puke. Unlike other pepper eating contests, you may drink as much water and or milk as you like, but remember, the hotter the pepper, the less effective these drinks are! Most can't make it past the third pepper, but I see some promising faces here today!"

Peridot jumped from the platform he stood on and sauntered around the table.

"These peppers are enchanted with magic that prevents wizards from getting the upper hand! It allows the eater to experience the full-blown effects of the peppers!"

Natsu's spine straightened, and he swallowed. "Hey! You saying I can feel the heat even though I'm a fire dragon slayer?!"

"That is correct!" he exclaimed. "Everyone is on equal footing!"

Gajeel shoved Natsu's elbow and smirked. "Looks like I'm winning! You can go ahead and quit."

"Natsu?"

Lucy stood behind him, clasping her hands in front of her. She wouldn't meet his gaze. Her shoulders slumped forward before she gave him a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I'll find another way to get Leronia, no worries!"

Natsu searched her features and knew immediately how sad she'd be without that key. She meant it when she told him he no longer needed to participate, Lucy cared that way, but her whole demeanor changed. No one else could detect it except him. Her pained half-grin faltered and how she fiddled with the ends of her blonde locks told him. She twirled them around her finger before crossing her arms underneath her breasts. Lucy _really_ wanted that key. Natsu didn't like seeing her upset. What harm would eating a few peppers do?

"I'll do it, Luce!" Natsu waved a hand at Gajeel who shot him the bird. "I gotta shut up Metal Mouth over here, right?"

Lucy beamed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Right!"

"Alright!" Peridot slapped a hand on the table then tapped his manicured nails on it. "The first pepper is a jalapeño pepper! Its Shu rating is between twenty-five hundred and ten thousand! Shu is the unit of measure used to determine how hot peppers are. Grab the green one on your left and start munching!"

Natsu reached for it and crunched. Heat radiated through his mouth before he finished, causing him to stick out his tongue. If this felt hot, Natsu's odds plummeted to almost nothing. Gajeel grinned as he munched on his pepper.

"Gihi, don't tell me you're already struggling!"

"I'm not!" Natsu argued, refusing to sip the water just to prove a point.

He needed water though.

"Great job everyone!" Their host circled the table again then pointed at a slim bright red pepper. "Your next conquest is the Cayenne pepper! Its Shu rating is around thirty thousand to fifty thousand! Dig in when you're ready!"

Natsu powered through. The faster he ate each one, the quicker he'd get Lucy that key. He inhaled it and instantly coughing racked his body. He cleared his throat forcefully, standing to his feet and covering his mouth to avoid hacking on everyone.

"Is it hot Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Nope, just wrong pipe!" he choked.

It. Was. So. Hot! Is this what non-fire magic users had to deal with?! Natsu hadn't experienced heat like this since he was a child learning how to wield fire magic.

"We're jumping to the pepper that usually knocks everyone out!" their flamboyant host announced with a twirl. "The Komodo Dragon has a Shu level more than triple of the Cayenne pepper at a whopping one million four hundred thousand Shu!"

Gajeel snorted. "I've eaten a ton of those in my lifetime! They ain't impossible to eat!"

Despite his declaration, Gajeel had sweat beading on his forehead and his face flushed. He drank a half glass of milk.

"Ready to get yer ass handed to ya?!"

Natsu's competitive nature stomped out any hesitation of continuing.

"You wish!"

"And go!"

They chewed on the pepper, both their eyes watering. Tears streamed down Natsu's face and his nose started running. Did he drink lava?! Natsu snatched a glass of milk and chugged, almost puking. Even his ears burned. He couldn't see well because of the constant tearing. His coughing was uncontrollable now; even his lungs ached like he had smoldering embers lodged in them.

"Natsu, are you sure you want to keep this up?" Wendy asked with a concerned look. "You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"I gotta do it for Lucy," he wheezed.

Love for him filtered across her features and she leaned down to kiss his sweaty cheek. "Thank you, Natsu."

"Gajeel, you look like you should quit too," Panther Lily observed.

The Exceed studied his comrade's demeanor from his spot floating next to him. Gajeel tried to swipe at him.

"Yer distracting me, cat!" he sputtered through coughing fits. "That's fucking hot as shit!"

Levy placed a worried hand on his forearm. "I don't want you hurting, Gajeel. You know you have a sensitive stomach! You're drinking milk too knowing you're lactose intolerant!"

He flushed scarlet and not from the peppers. "Shut up, I am not!"

He was and would pay an agonizing price later that night. Everyone else dropped out of the competition, but Natsu and his opponent refused to give up, eating the fourth pepper: the Carolina Reaper, once the hottest pepper in the world. Each dragon slayer had a team of cheerleaders egging them on. Natsu was in agony. The milk never helped. Water was a joke. His stomach rolled in excruciating waves wanting to regurgitate the demon peppers. Horror iced his veins knowing they'd be just as bad coming up.

He closed his eyes that were now bloodshot, unable to keep his mouth closed because breathing with it open took a fraction of the edge off. Natsu had to have damaged the sensitive tissues in his mouth from such severe heat. He'd beg Wendy for healing afterward… if it would even work for this kind of "injury". Gajeel wasn't in better shape. He now paced the area, unable to stay seated and yelled his misery every few minutes.

"Oh my, we have a tie!" Peridot placed his arm around seated Natsu's shoulders. "There's only one way to break it!"

He pranced over to the podium on the platform and pulled out a box. Natsu's chest filled with dread.

"What the hell is that?!"

He opened the box and placed it in the center of the worn table. "This, my friend is Pepper X hot sauce. It is the hottest pepper in the world with over three million Shu packed into it!"

"_Three million_?!" Gajeel and Natsu cried in unison.

"That's right! To determine a winner, I will place a few drops in your mouth every ten seconds until one of you quits or gets sick. Ready, boys?!"

Gajeel lost all his ego and nodded, still breathing hard and sweating like he just fought a battle. Natsu looked down at his hand to see Lucy squeezing it. She reminded him he didn't have to keep going, but he brushed her off again.

Natsu rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and whimpered, "Let's do it!"

Peridot opened the sauce and the powerful spicy scent invaded their nostrils. He placed a few drops on each of their tongues and at first, Natsu didn't notice a huge increase of pain. He smiled, knowing he had this competition in the bag. About forty seconds in, the most agonizing burning sensation radiated through his mouth that put the last fifteen minutes of hell to shame. His airway tightened and he reached for his throat, stumbling away from the table. Natsu fell on his hands and knees as barking coughs racked his body. He wouldn't wish this distress on his worst enemy. Could this count as torture?! His vision swam like he was seconds from passing out.

"Alright, I quit!" Gajeel caved while running for nearby bushes. He heaved, one hand resting on a tree for support. "Fuck, it hurts coming back up, too!"

"Gajeel!" Levy cried while rushing to the sick dragon Slayer's aid.

"Congratulations, you are the winner!"

Peridot reached for the celestial key and held it to Natsu.

"You want the key for your lovely maiden, correct?!"

Peridot watched Natsu rocket to his feet and take off running. He screamed about how much it hurt, almost knocking over small children as he burst past them. He sprinted back and skidded to a halt in front of Wendy while jumping up and down.

"Help me, I'm dying!"

Erza, Jellal, Carla, Happy, and even Wendy and Lucy started laughing.

"Don't laugh!" Natsu whimpered. "I'm hurting so bad! Don't you guys care at all?!"

"Lucy told you many times you didn't have to keep going," Erza pointed out. "Although chivalrous, it's your fault."

"We're not laughing at you; we're laughing with you!" Happy announced after getting his giggles under control.

"I ain't laughing though!"

Lucy walked over to him with napkins in her hands. She cleaned up his messy face with care then wrapped her arms around his shoulders although he couldn't stand still.

"Thank you, Natsu. This means so much to me. You're the best."

She kissed him with so much love Natsu forgot about his discomfort for a moment. Lucy jerked back, her face beet red and tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Holy hell, _why would you eat these?!"_ she screamed while running to the table for milk.

Natsu realized the spiciness transferred to Lucy and guilt washed over him but he grinned.

"Don't say I never did anything nice for ya!"

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**I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please let me know your thoughts!**


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